Unleashed

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”

“…..with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,…”

Beautiful words fallen on deaf ears as a race. I am curious, since I am in this exploratory phase in life, how many of us truly live by these words and hold them close to their heart. I am not brave enough to question how many actually practice it, just simple question of comprehension. I’m voting far fewer than the “general public”. Let’s be honest, these words are a hallmark gesture given in a card on special occasions, therefore, they are meaningless to the person you hand them to. Love is all of the above, it isn’t how much monetary value the other person has or how pretty you can be when going out because it is a worldwide crisis if the makeup isn’t perfect and hair is exact down to the last strand. Money cannot and will never buy beauty. For the sake of sounding cliché, beauty is your inner layer and not the reason L’Oreal is in business.

L’Oreal and other makeup company’s do a wonderful job of masking and portraying that which isn’t real. As a society we have accepted it and live by it. At one point or another the mask drops and you wake up next to a stranger. So, I’m still at a loss as to why people see fit to mask who they truly are. As if that isn’t enough, we then settle for people in our lives because of their material benefits to us. It seems to be a race of who is going to reach hell in the downward spiral first. Enter stress and the fighting ensues. Out the door goes humility, compassion and love….the very hallmark messages we just sent to the same person. We are striving to be and most already have achieved the status of rotted bones hidden by beautiful white washed marble temples. Congrats to us all for being wonderful walking lies.

I understand it isn’t always easy to be us. We all search for what we want most…love. As humans we need companionship of sorts because we cannot stand to face ourselves alone in the mirror. Honesty hurts. Duh! That is the point, to see the rotting bones of our inside and do something about it. Unfortunately between salon visits and nail appointments, honesty is the last thing on our minds. Life happens and to each his own as no one on this Earth has the right to judge. My only qualm with it is this….do not put convenience and material needs in the same boat as love. You do not love someone if the only time you think about the person is when you want something.

Love bears all things and endures all things is such a powerful statement and wasted on people today. One of my favorite artists is George Strait. Cross My Heart, one of his songs is my all time favorites. I bring this up (primarily because it’s playing in the background at the moment) but it sparked an interesting thought…nowhere in this song are any of the lyrics in regards to you buy me things and Ill love you. It doesn’t work that way. Here is a concept, get a job that will allow you to afford that lifestyle. Don’t put it on someone else and label it as love.

In some ways I can honestly say that in my life, love has bared all things, believed, hoped and endured all things. It still does in so many ways. It also may have to for a long time to come. That is something I don’t know at this moment. However, regardless of that I don’t take it for granted even for a moment. I thank God everyday for smacking me upside the head and opening my eyes to this miracle. I take nothing for granted. I spent the morning running in my back yard, playing with my German Sheperd. I was out of breath completely and he still had juice left in his engines. I sat down on the grass and he came over, put his head in my lap and a paw on my leg. My dog was thankful. So why aren’t we as humans? I walked into town and as most cities I passed homeless people, begging on the streets. While my heart goes out to most, one in particular stood out. It was chilly out that day and he was out from the blanket, on his knees praying. Yes praying. I stopped, walked over to him and put money in his cup. He wasn’t praying for himself, he was praying for peace and kindness. I touched him (I say it because most people have an aversion to touching those beneath their societal standards) and the one thing I said to him was “He hasn’t forgotten you” and he looked at me, smiled and said “I know”…then thanked me for the changed and as I walked away being profoundly impacted he said “may God bless you”. I smiled and thought…”he already has”.

My point in all this is simple…love comes with humility, grace and compassion, not selfish wants and sinful desires. Remember that next time you buy a card or tell someone that you love them.